AI tools were supposed to 10x developer productivity. But what if they’re actually slowing us down?

A new study from METR found that AI coding tools like Cursor and Copilot slowed experienced developers down by 19 percent on average. A vindicating followup to a key insight from last episode: “every line of code is a liability”. However, this study has some SERIOUS red flags, and it seems more clickbait than substance.

Meanwhile, Swedish darling Lovable just raised a $200M Series A only 8 months after launch. They’re already pushing $20M+ ARR with just 45 employees, putting them near a $2B valuation. This phenomena of small AI startups bagging HUGE influxes of cash from VCs is not surprising nowadays, but still begs the question: bubble or not?

And then there’s Meta. In 2023, they doubled down on their stance that the future of AI is open-source. Now? They’re reportedly considering pulling the plug on Behemoth, their most powerful open-source model. After Chinese researchers at DeepSeek forked it and created a stronger, more efficient model, Meta might be regretting their open strategy (even if that was the point all along).

Plus, we talk (of course) about Federation, and why we’re bullish on gRPC as the next generation. Jens also shares key insights from his latest two blog posts on the topic.

This, and more, in this week’s episode of The Good Thing with Stefan & Jens.
An overview of what we’ll cover:

AI PRODUCTIVITY CRISIS?
- The METR study that says AI tools are slowing developers down
- A follow-up to our “every line of code is a liability” discussion
- Why “code generation” isn’t the same as productivity
- Can it be trusted? (probably not)

LOVABLE RAISES $200M SERIES A
- $20M+ ARR in just 8 months
- Is this sustainable or just another startup bubble moment?

META BACKS AWAY FROM OPEN SOURCE
- Behemoth might get shelved
- Did DeepSeek’s success spook them?
- Was Meta ever truly committed to open AI?

THE NEXT GENERATION OF GRAPHQL FEDERATION SPEAKS gRPC
- Why we’re bullish on gRPC as the next generation
- Insights from Jens’ latest blog posts
- What gRPC brings to Federation that GraphQL alone can’t

If you’re a dev who relies on these tools, this episode is for you. We’d love to hear:
- Have AI tools actually slowed you down?
- Should open-source AI stay open if it can be cloned and outpaced?
- Do you agree with our take on gRPC?

Tune in every Friday at 9 AM on ⁠YouTube (WunderGraph - Stefan & Jens)⁠ for new Live episodes!
Watch this episode here: AI Productivity "Crash", Lovable’s $2B Surge, and Why Federation Needs gRPC | TGT #24
Visit us at ⁠wundergraph.com